A man was sentenced Thursday in Utah for a distracted driving crash that killed a toddler.According to Fox 13, despite being charged with negligent homicide, Rick Winder was only sentenced to spend a single day in jail — because the girl's parents asked the judge to show mercy."We miss our daughter, of course, so much, but we realize that Rick is a real person. He’s a human being. It took a little while to realize that, but once we did, we were able to forgive him," said Reed Parkinson, father of the victim, 2-year-old Chelsea Parkinson.Winder admitted to being distracted while driving in April, causing him to smash into three cars waiting in a turn lane. "She was full of spunk, a wonderful little girl, so sweet and caring," Chelsea's mother, Katie Parkinson, said. "She had the cutest little, 'Hello. Hello, daddy.'"Reed Parkinson said punishing Winder would not bring his family justice."We would request that he not receive any jail time, if possible, and get the lowest amount of sentencing as possible," the father told the court. Winder expressed remorse, saying the crash was truly an accident."I want to tell them again how sorry I am for this accident and there's not a day that goes by that I don't wish I could take their little girl's place," he said. In total, Winder was sentenced to just one day of already served time in jail, 400 hours of community service, 24 months of court probation, and $993 in fees and fines."And I think that the family being willing to show some humanity and some forgiveness to Rick and his family is what ended up in a just result," defense attorney Steve Burton said. The Parkinsons now live in Colorado and say their family is doing great."Drive safely, hug your kids. Traffic accidents can happen so fast. Hold your kids tight and love them," Reed Parkinson said.

PROVO, Utah —

A man was sentenced Thursday in Utah for a distracted driving crash that killed a toddler.

According to Fox 13, despite being charged with negligent homicide, Rick Winder was only sentenced to spend a single day in jail — because the girl's parents asked the judge to show mercy.

Advertisement

"We miss our daughter, of course, so much, but we realize that Rick is a real person. He’s a human being. It took a little while to realize that, but once we did, we were able to forgive him," said Reed Parkinson, father of the victim, 2-year-old Chelsea Parkinson.

Winder admitted to being distracted while driving in April, causing him to smash into three cars waiting in a turn lane.

"She was full of spunk, a wonderful little girl, so sweet and caring," Chelsea's mother, Katie Parkinson, said. "She had the cutest little, 'Hello. Hello, daddy.'"

Reed Parkinson said punishing Winder would not bring his family justice.

"We would request that he not receive any jail time, if possible, and get the lowest amount of sentencing as possible," the father told the court.

Winder expressed remorse, saying the crash was truly an accident.

"I want to tell them again how sorry I am for this accident and there's not a day that goes by that I don't wish I could take their little girl's place," he said.

In total, Winder was sentenced to just one day of already served time in jail, 400 hours of community service, 24 months of court probation, and $993 in fees and fines.

"And I think that the family being willing to show some humanity and some forgiveness to Rick and his family is what ended up in a just result," defense attorney Steve Burton said.

The Parkinsons now live in Colorado and say their family is doing great.